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Tuesday May 12 2015 15 ENVIRONMENT WILDFIRES Miss Stache is a sophisticated and cute little lady. Isnt she just precious If you brought her home shed be so happy and give you cuddles. Please leave a message at 872-5543 for details. WESCLEAN NORTHERN SALES LTD. FemaleAdult Black and white mix Looking for a new home Christian Leadership Training Revival transformation personal work evangelism life in the spirit being of service to God teaching fellowship love power seeking God. If these words excite you PRAY about joining us at SALT this fall on campus full time part time or from a distance. Make the NT a centre of REVIVAL AND TRANSFORMATION. Call 867-872-8151 and ask for SALT or mail us at SALT co Box 1101 Fort Smith NT X0E 0P0 By MEAGAN WOHLBERG With last years record-breaking wildre season and forecasts for another hot dry summer in the NWT the territorial govern- ment is looking back at what it can do better this re season and in the future. The department of Environment and Nat- ural Resources ENR released its report on the 2014 re season last week put together after 24 open houses in communities across the forested part of the territory and con- sultations with community and Aboriginal governments. Its the rst time the department has cho- sen to conduct such a thorough review of its re season and is indicative of the extraor- dinary events of 2014. Though the NWT should experience close to 245 res per year supported by an annual budget of 7.5 mil- lion severe drought conditions in 2014 made that level of support a drop in the bucket with a total of 385 res costing 56.1 million and impacting 3.4 million hectares of forest. Of the 93 operations to protect private property last summer including cabins and wilderness lodges two were considered sig- nicant losses. Though the overall consensus was that ENR respondedeffectivelytothechallengesof2014 which saw no serious injuries or fatalities to reghters residents or visitors the review did nd areas with room for improvement. The report lists a number of priority areas to address moving forward this year with a focus on better communication with the public improved safety protocols and more supports for its reghters. Public engagement The report notes a clear need for the de- partment to do more to ensure organized and proactive communication with the pub- lic media and stakeholders throughout the re season with specic focus put on GNWT re management policy operations practices and limitations. Special note is made of the need to encour- age more communities and property owners to FireSmart their values at risk. There is a public expectation ENR will be able to protect all property at all times which simply isnt possible in an extreme re season according to the report. ENR now plans to assign a single depart- mental spokesperson on re-related issues who will provide the media with weekly and or daily updates as needed and daily up- dated re maps will also be available online. The department also plans to make post- season reviews an annual event and to NWT fire season 2015 Communication safety and workforce upgrades underway aggressively promote the FireSmart pro- gram across the NWT through open houses informational sessions and media campaigns. More support for reghters The length of last years re season taxed crews on the ground and led to a recent re- view of the way crews are deployed and what more needs to be done to support human resources. It is often said that a forest re may be fought from the air but is actually extin- guished on the ground. This on the ground work is undertaken by people people that are often far away from homes and families and are typically working in very difcult con- ditions the report states. It is with this in mind that the departments review looked at the area of Human Resources. Inputs re- ceived from all engagement activities pointed to ENR increasing its support of the people involved in this important program. To start emergency reghters EFFs will be getting a pay raise for the 2015 re season to encourage recruitment. ENR is proposing to increase EFF pay rates to the same rate as GNWT casual positions. As of 2016 ENR will also be transition- ing to a different crew structure. Currently the department has 28 ve-person Type 1 wildre crews. That will be changed to 36 four-person crews. The department is also investigating the pros and cons of using contract crews as op- posed to GNWT-staffed crews to ght res with recommendations to be put in place by September 2015. And prior to the 2015 season starting the department will be developing and maintain- ing a list of all trained GNWT personnel who canbedrawnuponintimesofneedwhenENR resources are already stretched to their max. There will likely be new positions hired as well including three re technicians two seasonal warehouse staff and a communica- tions and public education specialist. Safety upgrades Though there were no serious injuries or deaths during the 2014 season the review found that ENR needs to create a systematic and comprehensive process for managing safety risks and modernize safety practices especially considering the stress and fatigue experienced by employees last year while on long-term deployments. While no actual injuries resulted there is concern about the type of analysis done after- wards what was learned and how incident re- ports and the lessons learned are managed and communicated internally in ENR and to relevant outside agencies the report states. Some upgrades will be done in time for the 2015 re season including incident reports and risk analysis of incidents and commu- nication protocols. Other elements will be nalized through expert assistance over the course of the sum- mer with plans to have a completed Safety Management System in place by April 2017. Thefullreportcanbefoundonlineat http www.enr.gov.nt.ca PhotocourtesyofKellyPennycook-EnvironmentandNaturalResources Last years massive re season in the NWT prompted a review and a number of systemic changes to communication human resources and safety protocols moving forward.